INDIAN WARS BATTLEFIELDS

Background

The Powder River Country along the eastern slopes of the Bighorn
Mountains have had some of the largest game populations in the
northern plains. Since prehistoric times they have been fought over
by different Indian tribes. First the area was controlled by the
Shoshone. Later the Crow Tribe pushed the Shoshone over the mountains
and took over the hunting grounds. The Crows were displaced by the
seven warlike tribes of the Teton Sioux.

After the end of the Civil War the United States resumed its westward expansion. Gold was discovered in Montana. John Bozeman laid out a road, the Bozeman Trail, as a shortcut off the Oregon Trail to the goldfields in Montana. The road went through the heart of the Sioux Tribes' newly won hunting grounds. The Sioux and their allies, the Northern Cheyenne, reacted violently to this violation of their hunting grounds. The Powder River Country became a battleground for the next twelve years.

Connor Battlefield

On August 28, 1865 cavalry under the command of General Patrick Connor attacked Chief Black Bear's Arapahoes along the Tongue River (outside present day Ranchester, Wyoming). The warriors made a stand while their families scattered. Connor's troopers destroyed the village, then were driven back by an Indian counterattack. Only the use of artillery saved the soldiers from disaster. This attack caused the Arapaho to join forces with the Sioux and Cheyenne. Excerpts from an officer's diary show the military attitude.

The battle site is located in the Ranchester City Park about five
miles from Dayton.

Sawyer Fight

On August 31, 1865, a expedition was surveying the route of the
Bozeman Trail. The group, led by Col. James Sawyer, was attacked by
Arapaho Indians in retaliation for the attack on Black Bear's
village. The party was besieged for thirteen days until the surveyors
were rescued by General Conner's Powder River Expedition Force.

The battlefield monument is alongside U.S. Hwy 14 about three
miles from Dayton where the Bozeman trail crosses the present
highway.

The Red Cloud War

From 1866 to 1868 the Sioux and Cheyenne fought to close the
Bozeman Trail through their hunting grounds. The U.S. Army built
forts Phil Kearny, F.C. Smith and Reno to guard the trail. Despite
the presence of the forts, Red Cloud's Sioux warriors made travel on
the Bozeman Trail a life threatening experience. The Sioux besieged
Fort Phil Kearny, attacking soldiers that left the fort to gather
firewood.

The Fetterman Fight

On December 21, 1866 a wood party was attacked by Indians. Captain
William Fetterman, who had boasted that he could "ride through the
whole Sioux nation with 80 men," led a force of 80 men out to relieve
the wood train and "punish" the Indians. Fetterman foolishly led his
command into an ambush led by Sioux warrior Crazy Horse. All the
soldiers were killed in a few minutes.

Wagon Box Fight

On August 2, 1867 a company of the 27th Infantry was guarding a
woodcutting party. The woodcutters had removed the cargo boxes from
their wagons and arranged them in a circular corral. A large force of
Sioux attacked the corral for over three hours but were repulsed by
volleys from the newly issued breechloading rifles.

The Treaty of Fort Laramie

Red Cloud continued the pressure on the forts. He refused to make
peace until the forts were abandoned. In May 1868 the U.S. Army
ordered the forts abandoned. After the soldiers marched out, the
Indians burned them to the ground. Finally, in November, 1868 Red
Cloud signed a peace treaty at Fort Laramie. He was the first and
only Western Indian Chief to have won a war with the United States.

The Battle of the Little Bighorn

On a hot June day in 1876 about 2,500 Indians attacked five
companies of U.S. Cavalry on a treeless Montana ridge above the
Little Bighorn River. In less than an hour every soldier lay dead.
This was "Custer's Last Stand"--the most spectacular triumph of the
American Indian in the fight against the encroaching European
civilization.

Preliminaries

After the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 the Indians thought that
they had won for the hated forts were abandoned, the Bozeman Trail
closed, and the Powder River country guaranteed as unceeded hunting
grounds. All of South Dakota west of the Missouri was set aside as
the Great Sioux Reservation. Their happiness was short lived. Soon
there were rumors of gold in the Black Hills. Prospectors swarmed
into the region. The Sioux charged the government with breaking the
treaty. Many Indians left the reservation to live in the unceeded
hunting grounds. Some attacked travelers on the trails fringing the
Indian lands. The government laid plans to end these attacks and,
perhaps frighten the chiefs into selling the Black Hills.

Late in December 1875, a demand was sent to the Powder River
bands--report to the agencies by January 31, 1876 or be subject to
military action. The fact that it was mid-winter and there was
insufficient time to make the move made little difference. On
February 1, 1876 the Secretary of the Interior asked the Secretary of
War to take such measures as he thought appropriate.

Campaign of 1876

Lieutenant General Philip Sheridan ordered three Army columns to
converge on the Powder River country and attack the Indians. The
"Montana Column" under John Gibbon marched down the north bank of the
Yellowstone River. The "Dakota Column" under Gen Alfred Terry, which
included all 12 companies of the 7th Cavalry marched west from Fort
Abraham Lincoln toward the Yellowstone. A third column commanded by
George Crook would march north from Fort Fetterman. There was no
coordination between the columns because each column was strong
enough to defeat the 500 to 800 warriors the Indian Bureau thought
were absent from the agencies.

A lot more Indians were absent from the agencies than the Indian
Bureau thought. Thousands had gathered under Sitting Bull's
leadership in the Powder River country. In June they came together in
one of the largest villages ever on the Great Plains.

General Terry sent the 7th Cavalry to circle around to the south
behind the Indians supposed location while his infantry marched to
block their escape to the north. Custer was to be in position by June
26th, the earliest date that the slower moving infantry could be in
position.

Custer's force turned north early and was discovered by Indian
scouts on the 24th. He immediately prepared to attack since he
thought the Indians would only try to escape. Custer now did what he
has been criticized for ever since--he divided his command into three
parts to try and surround the Indians. He sent Captain Benteen with
four companies to circle to the south. He sent Major Reno with five
companies to ride down the valley of the Little Bighorn and attack
the Indian village directly. Custer, with five companies would attack
the upper end of the village.

Reno's Attack

Reno's battalion began a charge toward the Indian village
following Custer's orders, "Move forward at as rapid a gait as you
deem prudent, charge the village, and the whole outfit will support
you." As the village came in sight Reno was shocked at the sight of
hundreds of tepees stretching for three miles along the river. He
called an abrupt halt, dismounted his men and formed a skirmish line.
Soon his men retreated into the trees along the river. When an Indian
scout was killed at Reno's side, he panicked and led a rout across
the river. The Indians rode among the demoralized troops killing at
will. When Reno's command finally reached the bluffs on the other
side of the river 90 of the battalion's 175 men were killed, wounded
or missing.

Where is Custer?

After separating from Reno, Custer had moved along the opposite
bank of the river. About 3 p.m. he went to the edge of the bluff and
saw the village for the first time. Custer now made a second fateful
choice. Rather than retreat from overwhelming odds and collect the
scattered pieces of his command before continuing the attack he
pressed on. About 3:20 p.m. he sent his orderly with a message to
Captain Benteen who he had ordered to scout to the
south--"Benteen--Come on, Big Village. Be quick, Bring packs. P.S.
Bring pacs" referring to the spare ammunition on pack mules. That was
Custer's last message.

From then on Custer's movements are a matter of conjecture. Indian
accounts give a reasonable idea of what happened. Custer tried to
cross the river at the middle of the village. He was driven back by
the rapidly increasing numbers of warriors. He slowly gave ground,
retreating toward the higher hills above the river. Warriors under
Chiefs Crazy Horse and Gall circled to the left and right until
Custer was surrounded. The Indians fought on foot using every bit of
cover to inch closer and closer to the troopers. About forty tried to
make a break for the river and were cut down. Custer's command group
made a final stand on what is now Custer Hill. They were whittled
down by rifle and arrow fire then killed in a final rush. The whole
battle had lasted less than an hour.

Aftermath

Captain Benteen joined Reno's demoralized troops atop the bluffs. After reorganizing they moved forward to try and find Custer but were driven back by a large group of warriors. The Indians besieged them for two days on Reno Hill. On the third day the village packed up and left. The Sioux had inflicted their greatest defeat on the U.S. Army.

Their victory was short lived. Large numbers of troops were called up and kept in the field pursuing the Indians summer and winter until they surrendered. The Sioux lost their beloved Black Hills and were forced into smaller reservations in South Dakota. The Crow Indians saw their enemies the Sioux defeated by their "allies" the white men. They regained much of the land they had lost to the Sioux. Their reservation includes the Little Bighorn River and the battlefield area.

Today

The battlefield is a national monument. There is a museum and national cemetery where many famous frontiersmen and Indian scouts are buried. The land is much like it was over a hundred years ago. The ground is deceptively flat but cut with hundreds of gullies that could still hide thousands of Indian warriors. From Custer Hill you look down on the white markers placed where soldier's bodies were found. A hawk glides overhead riding a thermal. There is only the sound of the wind in the grass. You feel as if the ghosts of the dead troopers could ride over the hills toward you any second.